


Welcome To The Future. Things Are Better. Mostly.

by Shadowmatic



Series: Pride Month 2020 [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Multi, Non-Serum Steve Rogers/Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes | Shrinkyclinks, OT3, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Super Soldier Bucky Barnes, Super Soldier Peggy Carter, Takes Place After the Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowmatic/pseuds/Shadowmatic
Summary: Bucky and Peggy find out that Steve is still alive from the news.
Relationships: James “Bucky” Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter & Tony Stark
Series: Pride Month 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771609
Kudos: 62





	Welcome To The Future. Things Are Better. Mostly.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is proceeded by An Argument As Old As Time.

Bucky was so glad that he had been able to hold on to his straight razor he mused as he shaved the scruff off of his face, the fancy new ones just weren’t the same. He finished up, and was washing the blade when there was a knock on the door. 

“Hold on doll.” He called. 

“James.” Peggy said, her voice muffled by the door. “We need to get back to New York.” The urgency in her voice and use of his first name was not something Bucky had heard in a while. Bucky shoved his shaving kit back into its bag and opened the door. 

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“Aliens?” Peggy said. “That’s not the problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Come.” She turned and went back down the stairs of their small farmhouse. Never one to risk Peggy’s wrath, he followed her. 

Their little television was on, showing a shaky view of a New York City street strewn with rubble and yes, aliens. 

“What’s the problem?” Bucky repeated. 

“Look.” The camera angle switched, showing them a different street, and Howard’s son in his ridiculous contraption, standing back to back with a tiny blond. Bucky knew that face better than he knew his own. 

“What?” Bucky said, stepping forward. “How? That can’t be him.”

“It could be.” Peggy said. “Remember that no one knew who he really was.” She wrapped an arm around Bucky’s waist. “And you survived being trapped in an ice box for ten years.”

“Fuck.” Bucky said. “We need to go to New York.”

“I said that already.” Peggy said. “Get your things.” 

Not twenty minutes later they were on the road again. They had asked their only neighbour for miles, old Mrs. Nock, to look in on their farm while they were gone. 

It turned out that America had closed its borders to incoming flights, so they had to fly to Toronto, Canada, and drive down. The borders were closed there too, but they hadn’t spent most of the Twentieth century as spies to be stopped by the world’s longest land border. 

Getting into the city was harder though, even though it had been several weeks since the attack. They didn’t watch the news nearly as much as they should, and they hardly got lots of American news in their little English farming village. SHIELD had locked the city down and was only letting residents in. 

“I’m calling Nicholas.” Peggy said on their third day of trying. “We want to do this right.”

“What if they don’t let us see him?” Bucky asked. “What if he’s not real?” 

“We might also go and see if Tony is okay, at the very least.” Peggy said, reaching over and gripping Bucky’s hand, the one that Tony hadn’t built. Bucky hadn’t as involved in the kid’s childhood as Peggy had been. They hadn’t been as close then, but then Peggy had told him about Howard’s negligence, and Bucky couldn’t stand for that. “I know you don’t want to get your hopes up. Neither do I.”

Fury agreed to meet with them, which was good.

“I’m going to guess that you saw the news.” Fury said, as soon as the plane that had dropped him off was gone again. “It is him.”

“Fuck.” Bucky said, trying to tamp down on his anger. “You should have told us.”

“You know as well as I do that you didn’t give me contact information.” Fury said. “I would have told you.”

“You knew where we were, and you knew Tony had our number.” Peggy said. “When did you find him?”

“He was moved to New York a month before this whole business went down.” Fury said. “We had only succeeded in waking him up a week before this, so three weeks ago now. We told Stark it was best to wait.”

“You wake a guy up who’s been effectively asleep for seventy years, and then you throw him almost immediately into combat? Good fucking job pal.” Bucky snapped. 

“I recognize that I have made several mistakes.” Fury said. “He’s at Stark’s place now. I’ll get the jet back and we’ll drop you off there.”

Tony sent them into the room that Steve was in, and if Bucky had thought that he was ready to see Steve again after seventy years, if he had thought that he could be suave in the face of something so utterly monumental, he was completely wrong. 

Peggy looked over at him and smiled. 

“Steve.” She said, and Steve’s head snapped up so quickly Bucky was slightly worried that he had hurt himself. 

No words passed between them as Steve hurtled over the couch and crashed into them. Bucky almost couldn’t believe that he was real, and it was clear that Steve felt the same way. 

“How are you here?” Steve whispered eventually, face pressed into Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Super soldier serum, much like you.” Peggy said, one of her hands pressing into Bucky’s back, the other running through Steve’s hair. “I was one of Erskine’s test subjects, and our dear Bucky received a bastardized version while he was held in captivity by Zola.”

“Fuck.” Steve said. “I’m sorry, I should have come back for you. I should have caught you.”

“It’s okay.” Bucky said, rubbing his metal hand up and down Steve’s back, his regular one curled around the back of Steve’s neck. “You couldn’t have known. I didn’t know.”

They fell silent again. 

“Well sweetheart,” Bucky said, pressing a kiss to Steve’s bowed head, “welcome to the future.”

“Things are better now.” Peggy said. “Mostly. Different at the very least.”

“Are there flying cars?” Steve asked. 

“Unfortunately not.” Bucky said, and Steve huffed a quiet laugh. “But we can be queer in public without being arrested or universally hated.”

“Really?” Steve asked, looking up at Bucky, his eyes wide. “Really?”

“Course punk, would I ever lie to you about that?” Steve shook his head, his eyes still wide. 

They didn’t manage to let go of each other for the rest of the evening. 

Steve actually woke up in his bed, which was a first in a while. It was far too soft, and far too big for just one Steve. The night before came rushing back to him as he opened his eyes, and he rolled over. Bucky, who had an arm wrapped firmly around Steve’s waist grumbled a little bit, even as Peggy smiled down at him, newspaper open in her lap. 

“Good morning dearest.” She said, and Steve reached for her hand. 

“I’m still not sure that you’re real.” He murmured. 

“I could say the same to you.” She said, taking his hand in hers. “We missed you so much Steve.”

“I missed you too.” 

“Shut up, ‘m trying to sleep.” Bucky grumbled, breaking the moment, and Steve and Peggy burst out laughing. 

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: welcome to the future (prompt by @cutequeerpositivity on Tumblr)


End file.
